For Turkey, world's leading jailer, a path forward

Turkey has
no business being the world's leading jailer of journalists. But the
numbers don't lie. With 49 journalists imprisoned for their work, according to
CPJ's annual worldwide prison census, released today, Turkey holds more individuals
behind bars than Iran (45), China (32), or Eritrea (28). How did Turkey find
itself in this situation? Unlike the other countries that top CPJ's imprisoned
list, Turkey has a relatively open and vibrant media. It is an emerging
democracy, a NATO member, and a candidate for European Union integration.

The use of
imprisonment as a media pressure tactic in Turkey is selective. The imprisoned
journalists in Turkey fall into two broad categories: Kurdish journalists the
government alleges are linked to a violent separatist movement; and leftists
and ultranationalists accused of conspiring to overthrow the government.

The charges
are obviously serious, which is why CPJ spent months this year reviewing the
case files to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to substantiate
the allegations. There was not, we concluded. In fact, in many cases the
evidence consisted of journalistic activity such as published articles,
interviews, phone calls, and notes.

(While
mainstream journalists face a great deal of pressure--punitive lawsuits,
internal censorship from media owners, personal and ad hominem attacks from
political leaders--few express fear that they will be jailed.)

Turkey's
position as the world's leading jailer of journalists was first confirmed by
CPJ in our October special report, Turkey's
Press Freedom Crisis. It caused much consternation and hand-wringing in
Ankara; the mood was tense when CPJ board member Kati Marton met with Justice
Minister Sadullah Ergin to discuss our findings.

But there is
a central point of agreement among many of those following the issue: The
underlying problem is the restrictive legal environment in which journalists
face prosecution under sweeping national security laws, many promulgated during
an era when the military held sway over Turkish politics. The government of Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged to reform these laws, and it has taken
some positive steps.

But for the
reform process to be credible, CPJ believes that Turkey must first shed its
position as the world's leading jailer of journalists. There has been some recent
progress. The number of journalists in prison in Turkey has dropped, from 61 to
49, since our October report was issued. The courts have released a number of journalists
who were being held while their cases awaited resolution.

Still, more
than 80 percent of the journalists in Turkish jails today have not been
convicted of a crime. They are being held in open-ended detentions as their
cases await court verdicts. Determination of who is released while awaiting a
court verdict seems arbitrary. Defendants accused of the same crime and facing
the same evidence are treated differently. One is released, another languishes
behind bars.

Turkey's
prosecutors and judges must exercise their discretionary authority to see that
all journalists held in pre-verdict detention are released. Of course, simply
releasing journalists being held in pre-verdict detention will hardly resolve
the crisis. Those released will still face very serious charges and could be
thrown in jail at any time. In addition, CPJ research shows that those already
convicted had been subjected to due process and procedural violations. We
believe their convictions should be overturned, and we will continue to
advocate for their release.

However, a
sharp reduction in the number jailed is a necessary first step that will build
public confidence, both domestically and internationally, and therefore greatly
improve prospects for the reform process that is under way. Much is at stake.
Turkey's broader strategic goals--asserting regional leadership, attaining
European integration, and retaining global investor confidence in the rule of
law--are undermined by the country's repressive policies toward the media.
Turkey's aspirations are attainable. But they will remain out of reach as long
as the country retains its title as the world's leading jailer of journalists.

Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He has written widely on media issues, contributing to Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Review of Books, World Policy Journal, Asahi Shimbun, and The Times of India. He has led numerous international missions to advance press freedom. His book, The New Censorship: Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom, will be released November 11, 2014. Follow him on Twitter @Joelcpj. His public GPG encryption key can be found here.